Historical graphite.
This (hopefully!) is a genuine chunk of graphite from the nuclear reactor that housed the first sustained nuclear chain reaction ever created by the hand of man, on December 2nd, 1942 under the squash courts at the University of Chicago.
Reader Stephen Key, a dealer in historical radioactive artifacts, sends this confirmation of the item: "I can assure you that it is indeed genuine. I have the same one, except on mine one of the long sides it has "Argonne National Laboratory" printed on it. Later I saw the same exact item being sold on eBay, but this one came with
the original box and label describing the item and signed by the "Dean". It was mentioned these were made to commemorate or celebrate the 25th anniversary of the event."Source:eBay seller mrmavicaContributor:Theodore GrayAcquired:20 January, 2007Text Updated:8 April, 2008Price: $500Size: 4"Composition:C